Shell



(No Model.)

C. W. HAYES.

SHELL.

No. 325,538. Panteniedv Sept. 1, 1885.

CHARLES W. HAYES, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

sH ELL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.4 325,538, dated September 1, 1885.

' Application ined May 1,'isa5. (No miem 'To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, CHARLEs W. HAYEs, of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Projectiles.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingv drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon. f

This invention pertains to a new system or mode of charging and discharging explosive shells and similar projectiles; and it consists, essentially, in providing thev shell or other projectile with two Qr more compartments or receptacles, in which are contained the ele-` ments or parts of an explosive compound or mixture, and adevi'ce'- or mech'anism'forautomaticallyliberating the said elements or parts,

permitting or causing the latter to mix orcombine to form the explosive, said device or mechanism being preferably arranged to op: crate or be set in action by or during the flight l Vof the projectile, the explosive compound or mixture thus formed to bevignited or fired byv impact or percussion. By thus charging the projectile with the elements of an explosive compound, and retaining them in separate compartments or receptacles until after the projectile hasbeen fired, the .liability of premature explosions is greatly diminished, and the shells can be readily charged and handled without danger to the operator, as no explosive compound other than the detonatlng material, if such be employed, is placedjor formed withinv the shell until the several ingredients are liberated or minged, either by manipulation or automatically, as by the iight of the #projectile A,

Arfurther advantage incident to the useof my said invention is the absence of danger, not

only Ain handling, but in ring such a shell--- 4 ,are non-explosive, and so long as they are uu combined `can'be subjected to the impact ofv the firing-charge without dan ger of exploding,

aswould be the case werethe ingredients For the purpose merely of illustrating the manner of applying and using my said invention, I have shown in the accompanying drawings a form of shell designed to accomplish my said purpose; but I wish it distinctly understood that the form, preparation, and relative arrangement of the parts can be changed and modified at willl without departing from the spirit of my said invention, so long as the principle and mode of operation as herein set forth are retained.

In said drawings, Figurel is a longitudinal sectional view of a shell, illustrating one inode of applying my invention; and Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views of modifications.

Similar letters of reference in the several gures indicate like parts.

The letter Ajindicates a shell, "of iron or other suitable material, made hollow, and, for convenience in charging, in two or more sections, a a a The interior of the shell A is divided into two or more compartments, A A2 A3, lined with a suitable non -corrosive material, or provided with separate receptacles (shownin dotted lines) composed of a material thatwill not be acted upon by the ele- Y ment which it-is designed to retain.

' In the illustrations given the explosive to be formed is nitroglycerine, and the compartment A, Figs. land 2, is designed to contain the nitric and sulphuric acids, combined in proper proportion, and the compartment A2 the glycerine; or one acid may be charged in the compartment A"and the otherin the compartment A2, While the glycerine is charged in the mixy to the Stoppers by across-piece, b, or levers b',`

Figs. 1 and 2; or said nut may itself form part of the stoppers, as shown at B', Fig. 3.

rIhe spindle B is protected by a suitable covering or coating toprevent the acid from IOO I that the stoppers may be automatically Withstirring spindle, if desired.

drawn during the ight of the projectile, and

not before, (unless manipulated for that pur- .pose,) the spindle is continued beyond the point of the projectile, and provided with a devicesuch as the propeller G-which will be set in operation by the resistance encountered through the atmosphere. The propellerblades may be constructed separate from the spindle, and with a screw-threaded extension fitting into the end thereof, so that they may be removed, and thus lessen the. liability of the spindles being revolved and the materials mixed before the projectile is red from the gun. In this way the ilight of the projectile is caused to inaugurate the formation of the explosive by opening the passages and permitting or effecting the mixture of the ingredients contained within the shell.

The shell shown in Fig. 2 is formed in two compartments, A and A, each containing one or more of the materials which go to make up the explosive compound, the admixture being accomplished in the rear chamber, A.

If nitro-glycerine is the explosive to be formed, it may be fired by any of the known means for exploding such material by the, impact of the projectile against the object red at. When the spindle B is employed for effecting theadmixture of the elements, it may besustained in position by a collar, b5, which, when the end of the spindle meets a sufficient resistance, will be broken or displaced, thereby permitting the inner end of the spindle to be brought violently into contact with the interior surface of the shell and explode the charge, a suitable detonator, D, being located within the shell in proximity to the end of the I claim as my inventionl. The combination, in' a shell or projectile such as described,A of separate compartments or receptacles containing the elements' of an explosive compound, and a spindle for liberating the contents of the said receptacles and permitting them to mingle, said spindle extending outside the body of Yt-he shell and carrying aor mixing device, substantially as described.

2. In combination with ashell provided with receptacles or compartments charged with the elements of an explosive compound, as described, a spindle for releasing the contents of` said receptacles, and a detonator arranged for co-operation with said spindle, substantially as described. f

3. In combination with the shell provided with compartments or receptacles containing the elements of an explosive compound, the spindle for 'releasing the contents of the said compartments or receptacles, provided with `the `removable propeller located outside the body of the shell, substantially as described.

4; A shell or similar projectile formed with separate compartments or receptacles to contain the elements of an explosive mixture or compound, and provided with communicating passages extending through the walls of the chambers, valves or stoppers for closing said passages, and devices, substantially such as indicated, for operating said valves or stoppers from the exterior of the shell, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, with a shell or similar projectile provided with separate compartments for the elements of the explosive mixture, and passages leading from said compartments to a mixing-chamber, of valves for closing said passages, and a device-such as a spindle-extending through the wall of the shell,

valves for simultaneously opening the passages and permitting the elements contained therein to mingle, substantially as described.

6. f The combination,with ashell formed with separatey compartments or receptacles with communicating passages, of valves or Stoppers for closing said passages, a spindle connected and devices for connecting said spindle to said toA said valves, and provided with devices ex'- I terior to the shell for actuating said spindle, whereby the contents of the chambers or receptacles are released and caused to mingle, substantially as described.

7. The combination,with a shell having separate compartments or receptacles containing the elements of an explosive compound, of a pneumatic device or motor located in advance or upon the forward endv of the shell, and a spindle connected to said motor and operating to release the elements of the explosive contained within the shell,whereby the mixture or mingling of the said elements is eii'ected by the pressure produced upon the atmosphere by andduring the night of the projectile, substantially as described.

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